Getting a port offers several key advantages over regular vein injections:
• Reduces risk of skin irritation from medications
• Prevents multiple needle sticks if you have hard-to-find veins
• Lowers risk of lymphedema, especially important if you've had lymph nodes removed
• Can be used for multiple purposes like blood Show Full Answer
If you are only getting Herceptin, it comes in a shot form. I think called Hylecta.
Amy- here is a link to some info, seems the effectiveness is equal
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6512301/
Very interesting. I hadn’t heard of Herceptin injections, only infusions. I’ll ask my oncologist about that. Thanks so much!
Amy, I am also HER2+, and started my chemo (which included Herceptin) without the port. The chemo drugs were too harsh on my veins, and so after the 4th infusion I had the port installed. Having done chemo both ways- the port was worth any initial discomfort in having it placed.
If you have already finished chemo, and are moving to just the targeted therapy of Herceptin, you may want to consider the injection. It is faster, and I would assume since you are not using all the services, and equipment for infusion, it may be less expensive. Mine was done all by infusion, but if the outcomes are the same, I would have gladly gone with the injection. At the time I started chemo (Jan 2019) the injection had only gotten FDA approval a few months before.